Free MLB Picks Today for Monday, May 31st, 2021

Free MLB Picks Today for Monday, May 31st, 2021
Mon 31st May 2021

Make sure you check out our picks on this busy Monday of MLB action as we round out another awesome month of free moneyline selections!

Look below to find our free MLB Picks for the five best games on today’s schedule!

Tampa Bay Rays @ New York Yankees – 1.05PM ET

A pair of AL East rivals will kick off their four game series on Monday afternoon when New York hosts Tampa Bay at Yankee Stadium. 

The Rays are now one game clear of the Red Sox at the top of their division thanks to a pair of victories from their two games against the Phillies over the weekend. Tampa Bay won Saturday’s game 5-3 and Sunday’s game 6-2 to improve to a 15-1 record from their past 16 games. 

Contrastingly, the Yankees were swept by the Tigers over the weekend, having been outscored 5-15 during their three losses. New York are now four and a half games behind the division leading Rays in the AL East. 

Jameson Taillon will look to return the Yankees to the winners list on Monday when he makes his 10th start of the season. Taillon is 1-3 with a 5.06 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 50 strikeouts across 42.2 innings this year. In his last start, Taillon threw five innings for zero runs on two hits, however the right hander gave up four runs in each of his two prior starts.

Tampa Bay will counter with Rich Hill at the mound on Monday. Hill has a 3-2 record, 3.63 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 58 strikeouts from his 10 starts this year. The southpaw has thrown 6+ innings in each of his last three starts, allowing a combined three earned runs on 11 hits in 20.2 innings. 

In their last 16 games, the Rays have scored 6+ runs on 11 occasions as they are now the fourth most prolific scoring offense in baseball. Seeing as New York are a bottom 10 team when looking at runs scored this season and the Rays will have Rich Hill giving them an advantage at the mound, we like Tampa Bay to continue their solid form on the road with a win on Monday. Especially when coming up against a struggling Jameson Taillon.

MLB Pick – Tampa Bay Rays (+104)
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San Diego Padres @ Chicago Cubs – 2.20PM ET

Two of the top teams in the National League will kick off a three game series on Monday when the San Diego Padres head to Wrigley Field to take on the Chicago Cubs.

Although San Diego took a loss from their most recent game against the Astros on Sunday, they left Houston with a 2-1 series victory. The Padres won game one 10-3 and game two 11-8 to wrap up a series win, before going down 4-7 in a dead rubber game on Sunday. 

San Diego’s 34-20 record is the equal best in baseball, as the Padres pitching staff boasts a league leading 2.62 team ERA, while Fernando Tatis Jr. is headlining the ninth most prolific lineup in baseball, averaging 4.85 runs per game. Tatis Jr. has recorded 24 RBI’s over his last 12 games, as the 22-year old hit at .250 with six RBIs against the Astros this weekend.

Chicago have also been performing well at the mound recently, winning six of their last seven matches after two victories from their three games against Cincinnati over the weekend. The Cubs pitching staff has allowed three runs or fewer in 12 of their last 14 outings.


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Trevor Williams will look to continue Chicago’s success at the mound on Monday when he makes his 11th start of the season. After throwing six innings and allowing just one run in his last start, Williams owns a 3-2 record, 5.36 ERA and 1.60 WHIP across 43.2 innings

The Padres will counter with Chris Paddack on Monday. Paddack has a 2-3 record, 3.61 ERA and 1.13 WHIP in 42.1 innings across nine starts. The right-hander held the Brewers to just one run on two hits in six innings in his last start. 

As good a form as the Cubs are in, the Padres are just going that little bit better at this point in time. Chicago’s 4.58 runs per game ranks them 12th in the majors, while their 3.72 team ERA is good for 10th overall. San Diego is the better team in both categories and although they are on the road, we like their in-form lineup to get the better of Trevor Williams on Monday. Especially when considering that Williams has a 6.52 ERA from his last five starts and the Padres lineup has scored an average of 6.4 runs per game during that time. 

MLB Pick – San Diego Padres (TBD)
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Chicago White Sox @ Cleveland Indians – 3.05PM ET

It’s a top of the table clash in the AL Central as the second placed Cleveland Indians host the first placed Chicago White Sox for the first match of their four game series on Monday. This is a preview for game one of the White Sox vs Indians double header on Monday.

Chicago have extended their lead over Cleveland to three and a half games in the AL Central as a result of their recent four game series sweep against the lowly Baltimore Orioles. The White Sox outscored the O’s 18-7 across the four games, holding Baltimore to just one run on three occasions. 

As for the Indians, they will be looking to bounce back from a 1-2 series loss that they suffered against the Blue Jays at home over the weekend. Cleveland avoided a series sweep with a 6-5 victory on Sunday, however Toronto had already defeated them 11-2 in game one and 4-1 in game two. 

Cleveland’s Triston McKenzie will take the mound for game one of the double header. From his eight starts (nine appearances) this year, McKenzie has a 1-3 record and 5.94 ERA, however the right hander is coming off his best start of the season. McKenzie threw five shutout innings for just one hit against the Tigers in his last outing. 

Chicago will counter by sending Cy Young contender Carlos Rodon to the mound for his ninth start of the year. In what has been a career year for the left hander, Rodon boasts a 5-2 record, 1.29 ERA and 0.72 WHIP from 48.2 innings of work.

Although Cleveland has gotten the better of Chicago in their recent head to head series, winning 10 of their past 14 meetings, the White Sox will enter this matchup with the better scoring offense (sixth in the league), pitching staff (fourth in the league) and will have Rodon giving them a massive advantage at the mound. We like Chicago to get the better of the struggling Triston McKenzie on the road in the first game of this double header, giving them a 1-0 lead heading into game two on Monday afternoon. 

MLB Pick – Chicago White Sox (TBD)
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Los Angeles Angels @ San Francisco Giants – 4.05PM ET

The Angels and Giants will face off for the first time this year on Monday, kicking off a two game inter-league series between these two west coast teams. 

After dropping Thursday’s series opener 3-4, the Giants won the final three matches of their four game set against Los Angeles at Dodger Stadium, winning the series 3-1 and overtaking the Dodgers for second place in the NL West. San Francisco outscored Los Angeles 26-19 across the four games. 

As for the Angels, they recently split their four game series against the A’s in Oakland. After dropping game one on Thursday 0-5 and game two on Friday 1-3, Los Angeles will take some confidence out of winning the final two games of their series on the road, outscoring the A’s 8-2 in that time to tie the series at 2-2.


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Dylan Bundy will look to build on the Angels winning streak on Monday when he makes his 10th start of the year. With an 0-5 record and 6.50 ERA, Bundy is still looking for his first win of the season. In his last three starts, Bundy is 0-2 with a 15.83 ERA, 2.28 WHIP and eight strikeouts over 9.2 innings of work.

The Giants will send Johnny Cueto to the mound for his eighth start of the 2021 season. Cueto has a 3-1 record, 3.86 ERA, 1.286 WHIP and 31 strikeouts over 37.1 innings of work on the year. Although he is 1-0 with a 4.40 ERA from his last three outings, Cueto is 3-0 with a 1.35 ERA, 0.825 WHIP and 28 strikeouts over 26.2 career innings against the Angels.

As neither offense has performed consistently this season, we like the Giants to get the win at home on Monday. San Francisco recently won three consecutive games on the road against the reigning World Series champions and they will have a vastly superior starter in the pitching matchup. The Angels are still without Mike Trout and we don’t think that they are capable of getting the better of San Francisco at home, as the Giants have the second fewest losses at home this season. 

MLB Pick – San Francisco Giants (-134)
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Boston Red Sox @ Houston Astros – 4.10PM ET

Two of the best offenses in the American League will close out our Monday afternoon MLB schedule when the Astros host the Red Sox for the first match of their four game series in Houston. 

In what was a short week for the Red Sox, Boston recently recorded a pair of wins from their two game weekend set against Miami at Fenway Park. The Red Sox outscored the Marlins 8-3 across the two games. 

As for the Astros, they will be looking to bounce back from a series loss to the Padres in Houston. The Astros won Sunday’s game 7-4, however they were outscored 11-21 in games one and two. 

Jose Urquidy will make his ninth start of the year for Houston on Monday. Urquidy has a 3-2 record, 3.22 ERA and 1.03 WHIP from 44.2 innings of work this season. The right hander has allowed just two earned runs on 10 hits in 17.2 innings across his last three starts. 

Boston will counter with Eduardo Rodrigiuez at the mound on Monday. Rodrigiuez has a 5-3 record from his nine starts this season, to go along with a 5.06 ERA and 1.40 WHIP from 48 innings of work. The southpaw has been costly in his last three starts, allowing 13 earned runs on 23 hits across 15 innings. 

The Red Sox’s 267 runs are good for the second most in baseball, while the Astros are right behind them with 266 runs (third most in the league) from one fewer game. 

With the likes of Yordan Alvarez, Yuli Gurriel, Jason Castro, Michael Brantley and Kent Emmanuel all listed as either questionable or out for Monday’s clash, the struggling Eduardo Rodrigiuez will not face a full strength Astros lineup in this matchup. However, we still feel as if Houston are the pick for this matchup at home. Rodrigiuez has allowed 13 earned runs on 23 hits across in his last three starts and Boston’s lineup will also likely be without J.D. Martinez, who leads the team in batting average (.328) and hits (62).

MLB Pick – Houston Astros (-108)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.

Jesse is and always has been a lover of sports. No matter the league, no matter the game, Jesse is constantly keeping up to date with the latest odds, news, injuries and stats. He has a strong interest in the NBA and the NFL, and he will always strive to keep you up to date with the best news, odds, predictions and picks that the ever engaging sporting world has to offer.